Bulls credit halftime speech from Nazr Mohammed for Thursday turnaround

The Chicago Bulls entered halftime Thursday down 19 points to the Miami Heat. Something changed at the break, and it wasn't due to an animal sacrifice.

The Bulls stormed out in the third quarter, hammering the Heat 33-8, erasing the deficit and ultimately hanging on for an 89-78 victory.

Flipping the switch from a 32-51 half to a 47-27 half is impressive, and to hear the Bulls tell it, it was due in large part to a player who logged 0:00 of time on the floor.

It was a halftime speech from 37-year-old veteran Nazr Mohammed, he of the 118 minutes played this season, that made all the difference.

"Naz stepped up and said this was't good enough," Aaron Brooks said after the game. "We're not playing playoff basketball and we have the talent. We just challenged each other to do better."

Mohammed has reportedly been taking on more of a vocal role in the past few weeks as the Bulls have looked lethargic at the back end of the long trod to the playoffs. While he rarely plays, Mohammed has 17 years of experience, has been in the playoffs 10 times and has an NBA championship - a resume that surely makes him worth listening to.

"I think one thing Naz brought up was you're letting your teammate down when you're not getting back or you're not helping," Brooks said. "You're letting your teammate down, and you got to have your brother's back."

The hope for the Bulls from here has to be that Mohammed won't need to continue pushing his teammates for effort, as the playoffs are right around the corner. At 47-32, the Bulls have a tenuous hold on the third seed in the Eastern Conference and could face a tough first-round test in the upstart Milwaukee Bucks or the Washington Wizards, who have given the Bulls plenty of headaches.